At the 17th International Conference of the Indian Association of Palliative Care
in Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu, David Praill, co-chair of WPCA from the UK’s Help the Hospices, urged delegates to consider the serious implications of an ageing population on the provision of palliative care services.
Last year the number of people aged 60 and over surpassed 700 million, and the UN predicts that by 2050 the figure will be more like two billion [1]. As populations age, the pattern of diseases that people suffer and die from changes; more people are affected by chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, respiratory disease and dementia, which increases the demand for palliative care services.
Currently more than 100 million people and their families worldwide need palliative care and support each year. Palliative care enables people, particularly those in old age, to live their lives with dignity and independence.
However, it is estimated that only 7% actually receive palliative care. The need is often greatest in low and middle income countries where the HIV burden is the highest and where more than 70% of all cancer deaths occur.
In his keynote address to the conference, Praill commented:
"Across the world, the human rights of patients and their carers to physical, emotional and spiritual pain relief through the course of their illness are finally being recognised. Now we must turn our attention to how countries, including the UK, can implement services in order to meet the ever growing demand for palliative care."
India is already taking steps to consider how it will support its increasing population. Working in partnership with the UK’s Help the Hospices and Help the Aged, HelpAge India and the Indian Association of Palliative Care collaborated on ‘Project Kiran – Living and dying with dignity’. The project identified key areas of development to improve care for older people by incorporating high quality palliative care into existing programmes.
The south Indian state of Kerala also provides an example to the world of how skills can be built in the community to enable access to palliative care for more than 70% of the people who need it.
Praill added:
"The WPCA seeks to foster, promote and influence the delivery of affordable, quality palliative care. Through education and training, policy development and advocacy work, we hope that one day all who need such care can access it."
To be part of the effort to make universal access to hospice and palliative care a reality visit www.thewpca.org.
Sources
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UN, World Population Ageing 2009
Media contacts
Zoe Grumbridge, +44 (0)20 7520 8251 / media@helpthehospices.org.uk
